Feeling a bit overwhelmed!

[isajgh]

Hi! My tank is aprox 6 months old and doing really well so far! I have a Kenya Tree, Frogspawn, Gsp, rasta zoa colony and red ring zoa all thriving and growing! I'm planning on adding several more frags this upcoming week but want to be sure I'm doing everything properly. I've been doing a lot of research as to what should be dosed and controlled for proper coral keeping. Up until now I have not had to add any supplements to my system thanks to bi-weekly water changes but with the addition of more frags I know I will need to start dosing. Long story to get to this: what brands of supplements do you recommend? Specifically for the big three: calc, alk, and mg? Any tips/ suggestions for a relative newbie are also very welcomed! I've attached a few pictures below Thanks!!!

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[kgeig001]

If your tests are all in range, why would you think you need to dose? Only start dosing when water changes can't keep up. I'm assuming you mean the big three...Cal, alk and mag...right?

Nice looking rock by the way

 

[jml1149]

I agree rock looks great.

The name of this battle is consistency, and if you're only adding back the necessary components of a happy reef tank every two weeks, can't possibly be that consistent.

What are your current parameters? How often do you measure them? I bet if you measured them every day you would see a significant swing.

For daily dosing I use kalk, the wonder drug. Seriously best. Stuff. Ever. To maintain Ca as needed I use Kenta liquid calcium, and for Alk I used to use Kents, but it's silly easy just to mix up a batch of Randy's Two Part and not have it cost 15 dollars a bottle.

I used Kents Mag too, but recently switched to the BRS I mix in a gallon jug. Also way cheaper.

With that much coralline algae, something has got to be depleting quickly. Rock looks super

 

[cloak]

+1 Kalkwasser

To bump Alkalinity and Magnesium to the proper levels you can use baking soda and epsom salts. GL.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

 

[isajgh]

@kgeig001 I thought I would need to start dosing to maintain a healthy balance with the addition of more corals extracting nutrients. And thank you! I started with 8 lbs of live rock and 40 lbs of dry but the coralline has very quickly spread!

@jml1149 Currently, I measure at minimum on a weekly basis- maybe I should measure more frequently to catch any swings. I did a water change a week ago and my parameters as of today are:

salinity- 1.023
Ca- 450ppm
Alk- 8 dkh
phosphate- 0
Nitrate- 10 ppm
Since I haven't been dosing Mg, I haven't been measuring.

My simple tester corals seem to be doing really well and noticeably growing so I feel a little more confident in increasing my selection but wanted to make sure I am fully prepared. Thank you so much for the input and advice! I really appreciate it. Definitely looking into your suggestions.

And thank you @cloak those links are a great help!

Isabelle

 

[jml1149]

Mag is one of the core three, you should be measuring at least on a monthly basis and ensuring its on point. Your levels are right on, good job.

 

[isajgh]

Thanks!! Will post pics of new additions